Meet the Oklahoma health board members tweaking pot policy

After dealing with months of scandal at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the oversight board, whose nine appointed members are relatively unknown to the public, now finds itself under the hot light of controversy.

The state Board of Health voted 5-4 earlier this month to ban the sale of smokable marijuana, and 8-1 to require dispensaries to employ a pharmacist. The amendments drew public ire, a rebuke from the state's top lawyer, and two lawsuits. Some have called for board members to resign.

The controversy has erupted even as the Board of Health continues to oversee an agency mired in turmoil.

Since last fall, the Department of Health has been a revolving door of leadership. The turnover followed highly publicized cuts to staff, enforced furloughs and shuttered programs when some top officials in the Health Department claimed the agency faced a $30 million shortfall.

A multicounty grand jury later announced that the taxpayer-funded Health Department had no such budget hole, but instead hid millions of dollars in a slush fund. The layoffs and subsequent bailout of the agency were unnecessary, according to the grand jurors.

On July 11, to the outrage of medical marijuana advocates, Gov. Mary Fallin signed the Board of Health's new medical marijuana regulations. Last week, she called for the board to rescind the rules. The move followed Attorney General Mike Hunter notifying the Board of Health that the amendments overstep the authority given by State Question 788.

Now the board plans to meet again, to reconsider the medical marijuana rules.

Still, Ron Durbin, a Tulsa lawyer for Green the Vote, one of the two groups suing the Board of Health, has called for five members to resign, alleging they participated in secret meetings.

“The Board of the Oklahoma Department of Health must be cleaned up, and unless that happens, the plaintiffs do not believe that meaningful and necessary change can occur,” Durbin said in a news release.

The board is made up of physicians, business executives, an engineer and a human resources executive.

Timothy E. Starkey, president

Fallin appointed Starkey in 2012. He represents Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, Harper, Woodward, Woods, Major, Alfalfa, Grant, Garfield, Kay and Noble counties.

Starkey is the chief executive officer at Great Salt Plains Health Center in Cherokee. He previously served as CEO of Memorial Hospital of Texas County in Guymon.

Starkey earned a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Panhandle State University and a master's degree in business administration with an emphasis in health care management from the University of Phoenix. His term expires June 30, 2021.

Edward A. Legako, vice president

Fallin appointed Legako in 2017. He represents Blaine, Kingfisher, Canadian, Caddo, Grady, Comanche, Jefferson, Stephens and Cotton counties.

Legako graduated from the University of Oklahoma Medical School and is a pediatrician. He serves on the Board of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a past president. His term expires June 30, 2019.

Becky Payton, treasurer

Fallin appointed Payton in May. She is regional vice president of operations for Mercy Hospital. She served in human resources in the manufacturing industry before she joined Mercy as vice president of human resources in 2008. Payton has served as regional vice president since 2014. She is a member at-large on the state Board of Health. Her term expires June 30, 2024.

Jenny Alexopulos

Fallin appointed Alexopulos in 2014. She represents Ottawa, Delaware, Craig, Mayes, Nowata, Rogers, Washington, Tulsa, Pawnee, and Osage counties.

Alexopulos is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians. She is also the associate dean of Clinical Services and professor of Family Medicine with the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her term expires June 30, 2023.

Terry R. Gerard II

Fallin appointed Gerard in 2011. He represents LeFlore, Latimer, Pittsburg, Atoka, Pushmataha, McCurtain, Choctaw, Bryan, Marshall, Carter, and Love counties.

He is board-certified in family medicine and is currently an emergency department physician at the Medical Center of Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Association and the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association. Gerard's term expires June 30, 2020.

Charles W. Grim

Fallin appointed Grim in 2013. He represents Adair, Sequoyah, Cherokee, Wagoner, Muskogee, Haskell, McIntosh, and Okmulgee counties.

Grim is the executive director of Health Services for the Cherokee Nation. He is a former director of Indian Health Services, and a retired assistant surgeon general in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service.

He is board-certified in dental public health, a member of the Society of American Indian Dentists, a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health. His term expires June 30, 2022.

R. Murali Krishna

Former Gov. Brad Henry appointed Krishna in 2008. Fallin reappointed him in 2017. He represents Logan, Oklahoma, Cleveland, McClain, Garvin, Murray and Payne counties.

Krishna is a senior consultant of Integris Mind-Brain Health; co-founder of Integris James L. Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit; past president of Integris Mental Health; founder, past president and current board member of the Health Alliance for the Uninsured.

He is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. Association, and a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. His term expires June 30, 2026.

Ronald D. Osterhout

Fallin appointed Osterhout in May. He represents Ellis, Dewey, Custer, Roger Mills, Beckham, Washita, Kiowa, Greer, Jackson, Harmon and Tillman counties.

He previously was a board member from 1998 to 2007.

Osterhout is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree and master's degree in engineering. He has more than 40 years of experience in domestic and international oil and gas exploration and production. Osterhout is now involved in production agriculture in southwestern Oklahoma. His term expires June 30, 2025.

Charles E. Skillings

Fallin appointed Skillings in May. He represents Creek, Lincoln, Okfuskee, Seminole, Pottawatomie, Pontotoc, Hughes, Johnston and Coal counties.

Skillings is president and CEO of SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Shawnee. He began his career at Shawnee Medical Center Hospital in 1978. He serves as a member of the board of directors of the Shawnee Economic Development Foundation and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Oklahoma Hospital Association. June 30, 2027.

Sources: www.ok.gov; state Department of Health